


Fate's Labyrinth

by Silvex



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dimension Travel, Gen, Technobabble, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-06 19:48:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8766643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvex/pseuds/Silvex
Summary: Seeing the future, and the Void, Kamek decides to do whatever is in his power to stop it. Unfortunately, this involves taking care of two extra children, keeping the Mushroom Kingdom from figuring out where their lost princess vanished to, and hoping that the next argument will not set anything on fire.Meanwhile, the children grow up, unaware of their futures. The maze of destiny has been laid out, and it's up to them to navigate it, with no clue on what really is going on. A lost princess, a king, a mechanic, and a reality warper must band together to save all worlds. The question is, how ready for it will they be, really?





	1. Tiny Beginnings

The art of reading fortunes is an imprecise one. Different choices show branches in history, and what a fortuneteller sees one day can be made a moot point the next. Kamek knew this well, as just the month before he had seen the king living a long life, and now there was nothing left of him.

Well, almost nothing. At just over a year and a half old, Prince Bowser was the sole heir to a kingdom that, in just under two decades, he would have to rule. Kamek, for reasons unknown to him, was expected to help the child become a success. Due to how high the pressure was, he decided to delve into the future to see how, possibly, he could help this child.

What he saw terrified him. A gaping hole in reality, swallowing everything, while a grown version of the child tried desperately to stop it, along with three humans around his age. At first, it had seemed that there was hope, but then the jester appeared, and it all went downhill from there.

Well, he couldn’t just let that happen. Life of the future king aside, the world was kind of important. He did live there, after all. He had several years to stop this fate, but he decided, then and there, the best thing to do.

Ignore the other kingdoms, if not befriend them, so to keep them from being blamed when the giant hole in the sky opened. Ties with the Mushroom Kingdom might as well be beyond repair, but the Koopa Kingdom hadn’t been able to gain the hatred of the Beanbean Kingdom or Sarasaland yet.

More than that, he needed those kids. He could find ways to make them more powerful. Given the lack of humans in the Koopa Kingdom, he would have to use a lot of magic to get away with it, but he could find help somewhere.

The others in the castle would think he was insane. He could already tell.

* * *

  
  


“You stole the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom!?” Kamek winced as Kammy’s shouting made Peach start to cry. “It was bad enough with the two you brought back last year! Is there any reason that you seem to have a weird obsession with collecting newborn humans?”

“I have my reasons.” He shifted uncomfortably. There had been no reason for the Mushroom Kingdom to suspect them. Things weren’t entirely at peace, but with things still steadying out after the death of the previous king, they certainly didn’t have the resources to spare on kidnapping, at least to the eyes of their neighbors.

This was going to come back to haunt him when the children were teenagers, he could tell. The instant that one of them realized that the only kingdom not invited to parties was their next-door neighbor, everything would fall apart.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give them back, either,” Kammy grumbled. “Just, when it hits the fan, I had nothing to do with this.”

“Um… would now be a bad time to mention that you’re the only female here I really know?”

“If you would show up for meals every now and again, instead of dealing with the brats all of the time, you might actually meet someone!” She sighed. “I don’t suppose you could take her back?”

“Not without another battle, and does a war sound like a good idea right now?” He really hoped he could get her to agree to this. Three children was enough to deal with.

“I’ll help. Fine. If only because I know you’ll mess this up somehow.” Kammy snatched the bundle from the other Magikoopa’s hands, immediately trying to calm the girl down.

Kamek wondered if waiting a few years and taking the children then would have been a better idea. Too late, now.

* * *

  
  


“A stable time loop?” Kamek questioned the elder version of himself. Elder Kamek nodded.

“In ten years, you need to come to a month ago with the twins. Visit the Mushroom Kingdom to take care of an alien invasion, but stay out of sight. So long as you all get in the machine without being seen by any Toads, the future will be safe. Just don’t let any Koopas besides yourself see you.”

He was going to be stopping an alien invasion with twelve-year-olds. And, during that time, someone would invent a time machine.

It was kind of surreal, to think about. The twins were toddlers who were just learning to speak, and now they were suddenly destined to stop an alien invasion. He’d have to incorporate it into their training, once the time got close enough.

There were warnings about basing your entire life on future events that may or may not come to pass. Still, he wouldn’t stop worrying until the Void stopped showing up entirely, whenever that was.

* * *

  
  


At five years old, Prince Bowser was already driving his caretaker crazy. The boy was easily bored and prone to testing out his fire breath now that he could control it.

Perhaps the cause was loneliness. That would be easily remedied. Kammy, upon being told just why Peach was important to the future, had insisted on teaching the girl magic herself, but that did leave the twins.

He wasn’t sure how that would go. Mario was already a little daredevil, doing things that nobody else, at the age of four, would even think of doing. Luigi was more subdued, preferring to stay near his older brother, but seemed unusually intelligent.

Raising three children was difficult, but he thought that he was finally getting the hang of it. Still, keeping the three of them in the same place might not make his life easier. Either way, it was the first thing that he could think of, and it would help him in observing their development.

“Mario, Luigi, this is Bowser. He is five. Prince Bowser, this is Mario, and that is his twin brother, Luigi. They are four, and will be your playmates from now on.” Something flashed before his eyes, and he saw something he would have never imagined.

Stories had been told of the eventual births of seven Star Children, whose choices would shape the world. Kamek had listened to those stories, but didn’t actually believe them. He was sensible, he didn’t believe in fairy tales. Still, there was nothing stopping him from seeing the three stars in front of him, shining so brightly he was surprised that the children themselves didn’t see it.

He wondered if it was a coincidence that brought them together, but shook it off. Fate was a funny thing like that. He had chosen to change the one that he had seen, for the express purpose of survival. Now, that one event, that may not even happen anymore, was dictating exactly how these children would live.

The others had been right. He was crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Kamek has seen the future where Dimentio wins, and kind of wants that to not happen, since he happens to live in the worlds that would be destroyed. So, he kidnapped three babies to stop it. With more at risk than just Bowser, he actually put thought into his abductions, managing to get away with it.  
> The Mushroom Kingdom... won't really be covered until the time travel bit, because you don't just take a princess and expect everything to be fine after, even if they don't know you did it.  
> Also, given differences in upbringing, the four kids won't be exactly the same. Pretty close, but not quite the same. Luigi develops a backbone, for one. That'll be interesting.  
> Also, some plot points won't be usable as much, purely because of a lack of communication issues. Actually bothering to talk about things will stop a lot of the stupid... but not all of it. Because Mario's still reckless, Peach is still kind of a danger magnet, and Bowser has never been the sharpest knife in the drawer.


	2. Miniature Menaces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids keep growing, and soon start causing mischief.

As the children grew, their education became something that Kamek had to think about. Bowser would have to learn politics, because the castle staff couldn’t handle everything forever. The sooner that he was capable of taking the throne, the better, although that was a long way off. The prince was also old enough to start intentionally picking fights with the twins, which meant that he was old enough to learn how to fight properly.

He’d heard from Kammy that Peach showed great potential in magic, and assumed that she would focus on that. It wasn’t any of his concern, as they had decided that she wouldn’t be introduced to the boys for a while yet. It wasn’t difficult. They did live on opposite sides of the castle, so it would be theoretically possible for them to never meet each other. He would not concern himself with Peach’s upbringing.

That left the twins. Kamek had no clue what to do with them. Luigi seemed bright enough, and he supposed that Mario could be convinced to study, but academics weren’t the problem.

The problem with raising children to stop a possible apocalypse was that there weren’t that many applicable skills for the situation, at least not that were easily taught. Most usable skills could only be taught after the child had shown some amount of promise, and he had no clue where to begin with that.

Perhaps powers would start appearing as they grew up. Either way, basic self defense lessons were a must-have. If they couldn’t fight, they couldn’t save the world. He could focus on other things once they started growing older.

For now, however, he needed to replace the furniture again. Maybe this time the stores would have something fireproof.

* * *

  
  


At eight and ten years old, respectively, the twins and the prince began being referred to as the ‘Terrible Trio’. Not through any fault of their own, really. Rather, Mario was always being just a tad too reckless, and Bowser always the slightest bit lacking in common sense, and Luigi far too willing to put up with shenanigans. As the twins approached their ninth birthday, this became rather known to the denizens of the castle.

Kamek envied Kammy. From what she told him, while Peach was hardly perfectly behaved, she at least never took to things like setting loose ten Chain Chomps while the adults had to deal with various matters, such as paying the repair bill from the last adventure. What had he done to deserve responsibility for this?

...Oh, right, he had kidnapped three children. Somehow, despite the border with the Mushroom Kingdom guarded more strongly than ever in the past seven years, it just got easier to forget. Not helped by the fact that two of said children would constantly pull off plots without being noticed until it was too late.

The problem, of course, was magnified by one simple thing. It was known that twins had a tendency for special powers, and mutual telepathy was certainly one of the most common ones. He’d been hoping that they wouldn’t develop that one, but it seemed that they did, and used it purely to mess with him.

Luigi, from his observations, seemed to be the scout. He would be at the disaster zone shortly before the other two, around the time that Mario and Bowser would be seen discussing plans. Often, he would mess around with objects in the area, providing the exact setup that the other two would need to carry out their plan. This was what had alerted Kamek to the telepathy.

Mario made the actual plans, it seemed, although the fact that Luigi was never in the same room as the other two when the plans were made skewed the observation in his favor, because he was speaking for the opinions of two people. He also tended to be the distraction, although he and Bowser would switch off on that.

If any part of their plan involved strength, however, Bowser was the one that took action, at least for that part. If the plan involved fire, even if he wasn’t the mastermind, he would take over once he and Mario arrived on the scene.

Kamek wasn’t sure whether to be pleased that the three of them could work together, annoyed with all of the repair bills, or angry with them for not being able to behave. All three sounded equally good.

* * *

  
  


“Another successful mission!” Bowser crowed, watching from a distance as the fires died down. The twins, who had recently turned nine, stood beside him, admiring their handiwork. Well, Mario was admiring their handiwork. Luigi was reading a book, to keep up an air of plausible deniability.

Everyone knew that the younger twin was involved in the mayhem, of course. There just wasn’t a way to prove it, because he always got out before the other two arrived. That had been his condition, when they started making large scale mischief. He didn’t want to get in trouble for any of it, so they found a way to keep him from being directly involved.

Not that it really fooled anyone, of course. Where one of the brothers went, his twin was sure to be nearby. They just couldn’t pin any blame on him, because he hadn’t been anywhere near the gathering that the other two had ruined.

“How long do you two think you’ll be grounded for, after this?” A wonderful question.

“Probably another week.” Grounding, for the two who would actually get caught, involved being confined to separate rooms. Privately. It was just as hard on Luigi as it was on them, Mario knew, because he wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone. Kind of.

Telepathy was awesome.

“My only regret,” Bowser continued his speech, that he probably knew that neither of them would listen to, “Is that there will be nothing to distract me from studying.”

_ (A noble thought) _ Mario recognized Luigi’s voice, tinted with amusement, both at how, exactly, Bowser had managed to get away after setting several dozen curtains on fire, and at the Koopa prince’s overblown speech.  _ (He should have said that when he was fleeing under the tables.) _

* * *

  
  


At ten years old, Peach’s greatest source of pride was her immaculate bedroom, rather small, but kept tidy, besides her desk. The desk was covered in notes that she had to take, for magic theory. The room was so tidy, that those notes and the wardrobe with simple dresses were the only signs that someone lived in the room.

Peach loved her dresses, and she loved learning about magic. She could cast a few simple spells, mainly to heal, although she did have a spell that constructed a small, fragile barrier around a focus point. Her abilities were still growing, but she didn’t get as much practice time as she wanted.

When she was meant to practice, Kammy, her caretaker and tutor, would grouse about Kamek, the Magikoopa who everyone knew was running the show around the castle, and by extent, the kingdom, at least until the prince was crowned king in six or seven years. How Kamek had driven off the Boos from a potential alliance from ‘not being evil enough’, to his hiring a mechanics tutor for an eleven-year-old.

Still, Peach enjoyed these lessons. It was the one time she got to interact with anybody, because she was never allowed to go farther from her room than the nearest courtyard, and even then, it was mostly just to practice, or get needed exercise. Food was brought directly to her, but while it was convenient, she wasn’t really satisfied.

The next time Kammy arrived for a lesson, she brought it up. Kammy said that she’d think about it. The very next day, she was told that she would be leaving the small section of the castle to meet some boys that were a bit older than her. Peach was fine with this. It sounded fun, and she might make some new friends.

The room that she was taken to had one corner that was black, for no reason other than it being scorched with soot. Seeing her glance at it, one of the boys gathered there, the human in green, spoke up.

“It’s not always like this. Bowser and Big Bro had a fight the other day and  the chair caught on fire. We’ll be getting a new one eventually.”

This would be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kidnapping someone with the purpose of raising them for a specific goal creates instant karma. You have the kids, but now you're responsible for them. Also, in the Koopa Kingdom, fireproof furniture sells for a premium, given that they live with a lot of lava.  
> Mario, Luigi, and Bowser seem to think that the best thing for them to do is make Kamek's life miserable, and use twin telepathy to accomplish this. This means that they will never have the budget for fireproof furniture the way that things are now.


	3. The Time Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kamek had hoped that, when the time to close the loop came about, he could do it on his own terms. Luigi foils that plot spectacularly.

If one were to ask the twelve year old Luigi what his greatest talent was, he would have said that it was mechanics. He was decent in physical combat, could run as fast as any of them, and always jumped the highest, but it was machines that he knew inside and out, both in theory and in practice.

This, in part, was due to his mentor in the ways of science, Elvin Gadd. Nobody knew what E. Gadd, as everyone called him, had been doing before he showed up at the castle asking for a job, or how he had gotten said job in the first place. He had just appeared one day, and for the most part, everyone accepted it.

For the past month, however, there had been less time for lessons. His mentor had been working on something big, at Kamek’s request. There was a lot of speculation on the matter, but nobody was told anything about the project. It was, apparently, the most important thing that would be happening for a year.

Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. As he, his brother, and their friends grew older, they began to learn about the world around them, and if it was sufficiently important enough, Bowser would be forced to attend, so he could learn something. If it was sufficiently boring, Bowser would drag Mario along, and where one went, his twin was sure to follow.

A distraction from that was wonderful.

* * *

  
  


It was another two months before the project was completed. Kamek wished that it could have gone faster, but it wasn’t so much a problem, as long as they met the deadline of less than eleven years after the loop’s starting point.

The hardest part, of course, was keeping the specifics of the project a secret. Especially from the children. Once she was able to roam freely, Peach had a tendency to attract all sorts of trouble, mostly by accident. It was rather annoying, her ability to wander into potentially dangerous situations. He didn’t regret giving her over to Kammy, not one little bit.

Fortunately, Peach did not go near those labs. The reality, however, was far worse. Luigi was the quietest of the four children, stood out the least, and had a habit of fading into the background, far too easy to overlook. And this was the most dangerous thing about him.

The younger twin might have kept his head down whenever it suited him, but that didn’t change a thing about him. He was clever, and frustratingly so, to one who had to clean up after the children’s antics. It was clear, to anyone who bothered to pay close enough attention, that the boy wearing green was the brains behind the most complicated plots.

Those two things combined had been conducive to his role as a scout in the boys’ mischief, and was what meant that the lab where the time machine was being created had to be watched carefully. Far too many of the guards lacked the observational skills to notice Luigi when he didn’t want to be seen, and Kamek could tell that he knew this. Far too many of the schemes that he had cleaned up after relied on nobody noticing his manipulations for him not to.

The biggest danger of Luigi finding out, of course, was the fact that it would not be just Luigi who found out. It was the telepathy. Most could be sworn to silence, but the instance that one of the twins found something that he thought was cool, the other would be informed of it within a minute.

In all honesty, when the time machine was complete, it wasn’t such a big deal anymore. Still, he had been proud of the fact that he had kept something out of their notice for so long.

He knew, of course, that it couldn’t last, not if he had to bring them with him. The fact that it had been discovered, instead of him revealing it, would be a sore spot for a time, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to them getting up to something.

He let out a tired sigh, far too used to this. At the very least, this could be worked with. Smaller loops had already been created and closed, plenty of tests run. Spacetime was as safe to navigate as it would ever be.

“I want your brother here in fifteen minutes. Do not tell him why, and he cannot tell the others.” While saying the things he remembered would keep the loop stable, he did not want to deal with the extra headache. It would be far too dangerous to bring anyone else. As it was, it was already a huge risk.

Not quite so terrible as to take the risk of paradoxing themselves out of existence, of course, but it could certainly be close.

* * *

  
  


“Today, we shall be going on a little… field trip.” Kamek looked as if he didn’t know what to say, but that was only to be expected. This whole situation had only come about because Luigi had gotten curious and slipped in when nobody was watching. Sometimes, being overlooked was really annoying, but if he didn’t want to be seen… no one would be able to find him.

His interest in the project had led him to discover the large machine, unusually yellow. It stood out mostly because it was the only thing in the room, and pastel colors really were not common in the kingdom at all.

“What is that?”

“This is… well, the best way to describe it would be ‘time machine’, although it was never actually given an official project name.”

Time machine. He knew those words. For a few years, science fiction had captivated his interest, and that was one of the most common subjects. But that was all it had ever been. Fiction. Not something that would sit there, right in front of him.

“Now, this time machine is going to take us into a time period that just may interest you somewhat. Several years ago, the Mushroom Kingdom, right next door, was invaded by aliens. We are going to observe, and see how your training is progressing. We will not tell anybody about this little adventure, and we will not give out our real names, and we will think before jumping into danger, Mario.” Next to Luigi, his brother at least managed to look sheepish at this.

“Well, then. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even when not a famous hero, nobody ever expects Luigi to do anything important. In this world, however, it works in his favor.  
> In addition, this will be an actual story arc. After all, an alien invasion, even if it's the kingdom next door, is a big deal.  
> Also, it's a very complex time loop.


	4. Back in Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kamek gets even more problems to deal with, Luigi is unlucky, and Mario finds himself someplace he shouldn't be.  
> So, you know, just another day.

Kamek took one look at the broken time machine, sighed, and pulled out a notebook full of information on how to complete the loop. The good news was, getting it repaired was bound to happen.

The bad news was, he had lost sight of the twins in one of the explosions, and could only hope that they weren’t getting themselves into too much trouble. He was probably hoping for a lot with that, but so long as they survived, everything would be just fine.

Well, probably. In any case, he needed to find them before he could really do anything. And, well, it wasn’t the first time shenanigans had occurred during a training scenario.

Sure, this one had greater consequences for failure, but at this point, Kamek could honestly say that he’d stopped caring.

 

* * *

 

Mario was pretty sure that the world wasn’t supposed to look this… open would be a good word. He moved between the trees easily, noting the extra space, and the lack of any living beings nearby. Well, that wasn’t quite right.

There were a few Goombas about, a few purple things that seemed to be the invading alien force, and plenty of insects, but they weren’t quite the same, either. In his new, more open view of the world, Mario thought they looked flat. And that was far from normal.

None of them saw him, either, which was kind of concerning, given the lengths he was now going to to get their attention. At this point, he was almost on the verge of panic. Almost, because there was still one thing he could do.

_ (Luigi? Are you there?) _ He called out, knowing that his brother would definitely hear him, unless he was being blocked out, and he hadn’t been that annoying recently.

_ (Of course I am. What’s the matter?) _

_ (Well, everything seems flatter, for some reason, and I can’t get anyone to notice me.) _

_ (I thought we weren’t supposed to be noticed.) _

_ (That’s not the point! The point is, this isn’t normal, and I want out. Where are you?) _

_ (I don’t know. I’ve never been here before.) _

_ (That’s not what I meant.) _

_ (I know.) _ Mario sighed.  _ (Just… I don’t think I can help you with… whatever that is. There’s a situation.) _

_ (What kind of situation?) _

 

 

* * *

 

Luigi wondered, not for the first time in his life, what he had done to deserve all of the bad things that kept happening to him. True, he did cause mischief on occasion, what child wouldn’t, but his accomplices never had the same trouble with being consistently ignored that he did, rarely tripped up, and were certainly never thrown into an alien campsite.

Probably. He wasn’t quite sure what Mario had gotten up to, but he didn’t seem to be scared when he’d contacted him, more confused. And they’d notice if Bowser had somehow tagged along, given that the prince completely lacked any sense of subtlety. So, it was just him, then.

Brilliant.

He backed away from the snarling aliens, who seemed to be setting up their laser guns. He was tempted to try and swipe one of the weapons, but that would clearly be a terrible idea, so he set those urges to the side for the time being. He could study alien technology later, when it wasn’t trying to kill him.

Fortunately, the energy weapons seemed to be woefully inefficient. Luigi hopped over the first beam, noting that a properly functional weapon would be a lot harder than that to dodge. He just hoped that the rest of the invasion had such poor weaponry, although he doubted it.

Making what was effectively a ball of heat and light move slower than some Bullet Bills was the kind of disaster that would take a large amount of bad luck, after all. And, his own misfortunes aside, there was no way that someone would give their entire invasion force subpar equipment, unless they really didn’t care.

He was distracted from this line of thought from one of the lasers almost making contact. Right. He had to get out of that situation first, and figure out everything later. Maybe try to figure out where Mario was, exactly, and possibly find the time machine, given that it was his ticket back home. But, for now, escape.

He darted into the woods and didn’t look back.

 

* * *

 

Five agonizing minutes had passed since Mario had contacted Luigi, and he still had no clue how to get back to normal. The air around him seemed oddly thick, now that he’d been given time to think on it, and it was more difficult to breathe.

Not impossible, he was sure that the worst side effects would fade with time, but that was something he simply did not have. He needed to get out of there, possibly fight the alien invasion, find his brother and Kamek, and go home, roughly in that order.

Well, the first and last ones were immutable. The other two were relatively interchangeable, assuming he got past step one. Assuming. He really had no idea what he was doing.

He wandered for a bit, taking in just how much freedom of movement he now had, until he spotted something interesting. Someone was moving behind one of the trees, and they weren’t flat.

At a closer look, it appeared to be a boy younger than him, although it was hard to tell from the distance. And, suddenly, the distance was no longer there, and he could confirm it. He wasn’t sure how the other boy could be so fast, but he had heard that some people had the power to teleport.

“Hello. Who are you?” There was nothing off about how the boy spoke, and very little off about the boy himself, but the situation itself made Mario wary of him, even if he was the only other person there. So he stayed silent.

“You’re not from this dimension, are you?” The boy asked, simply, as if the fact that this wasn’t Mario’s regular dimension wasn’t a shocking revelation to him. “No, wait. You’re from the other side, aren’t you? I’ve heard people stumble across the borders by accident sometimes, especially if they’re like me. And you are, right?”

Mario shrugged. He had no clue what the boy was talking about.

“Oh, right, you wouldn’t know. Nobody knows until they find out, and if you can’t get out, you won’t know. Not that it’s difficult, it’s just another way of turning.” For a moment, the boy was as flat as everything else, and then he was back again. “See, it’s easy.”

And, perhaps to the odd boy, it was. Mario didn’t think so, but after seeing the boy do it, he eventually managed to return to his proper dimensions. He still didn’t know who the boy was, and he honestly didn’t mind not knowing. He was kind of creepy, other dimension aside.

He didn’t realize that, years later, he would meet that strange boy again, as an enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dimentio wasn't always an omnicidal maniac... he was always a bit off, though.  
> And Mario discovered the ability to flip completely on accident. Now, it may take him quite some time to get any good at it, but it's there.


	5. About Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luigi has given up on it being a good day. He is just too unlucky, and the aliens are just too persistent.  
> Kamek has given up on having a good life in general, it seems. Although, given what he has to deal with on a daily basis, it's hard to blame him.  
> And the Shroobs still aren't much of a threat.

Luigi glanced down from the branches of a tree and watched the aliens run past underneath him. He knew running through that thornbush had an upside. Not that it made the myriad scratches any less painful, but he did know how to put on a bandage. He was less prepared to handle laser wounds.

It was at that point that he realized just how high up the tree he was, shortly before he slipped on the thin branch, barely managing to catch on another. So perhaps jumping at random hadn’t been the best idea, if only because he had no clue how to safely get down. Living in a kingdom full of lava didn’t do much to teach you how to climb trees.

_ (Luigi? I managed to return to normal, can you tell me something about where you are?) _ And of course Mario would chime in at the worst possible moment. It was almost expected, really.

_ (I’m sort of… stuck in a tree.) _ Luigi tried to ignore his twin’s mental laughter. It wasn’t easy. Mario was always the loud one.  _ (I’d like to see you do any better.) _ There was no reply.

Sighing, Luigi decided that his first priority was to get to solid ground. He decided to just try jumping down. He did make it out of the tree.

Of course, that was because he landed right in the thorns. He didn’t even know why that surprised him. It was just another day.

He reminded himself that at least the aliens were gone. It didn’t help.

* * *

  
  


Mario, over the past half hour, had come to the realization that it was weird being in a place that wasn’t mostly black rock. He’d heard that the edge of the kingdom he lived in had a few places like these woods, but nobody went there unless they had to ever since he was seven. Something about an argument with King Boo.

Come to think about it, it was probably the same incident that had made his brother terrified of ghosts. He and Bowser had been grounded at the time, and he never did get a proper answer as to what had happened.

There was a sound from the bushes, and he turned to see something that looked like a Goomba, but not. For one thing, he knew for a fact that Goombas weren’t purple.

For another, they generally weren’t backed up by aliens with laser guns. Which probably should have concerned him a lot more than they actually did, if not for the fact that one of them was literally held together with duct tape. Mario wasn’t certain that was safe, but decided, since they were definitely hostile, that it didn’t matter.

A few seconds later, he was too busy dodging blasts to care, aside from wondering how he was going to deal with them. Knocking them out seemed to be an idea, except they’d probably be replaced by more invaders. He’d just have to wing it for now.

The one thing that he knew would help was the fact that they seemed just as unfamiliar with wooded areas as he was. So he quickly started using trees as blast shields.

At the very least, this was definitely good dodge training.

* * *

  
  


Kamek paused, making sure, for the fifth time, that all of the machines less recreatable components were safely stored away in hammerspace. He’d made the mistake of not checking once as a teenager, and he still didn’t know what had happened to those books.

Kammy had laughed when he told her about it, but she always had fit the mold of the kingdom the last king wanted to rule- one that wasn’t politically viable, unless you didn’t mind always being at war. They still had several treaties that needed to be looked over and signed, a number of which would require an actual king, and therefore, several more years.

Well, okay, they could technically crown Bowser king immediately, but everyone who actually knew the prince understood that he couldn’t yet be trusted with that kind of power. He wasn’t mature enough, and had a tendency to act without thinking. That was probably never really going to be trained out of him, but they could try.

Ensuring that everything was, in fact, there, Kamek unfolded a map of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was reasonably recent for this time, though he had no doubt that it would be much less useful in his own time.

As it turned out, Toads were very bad at avoiding a state of total chaos. Apparently they had been placed in charge of the Music Keys at some point, which only exacerbated the problem.

You knew that things were bad when your border patrols needed to take at least one dancer with them to prevent the landscape from completely falling apart.

Pushing away memories of the time he made the mistake of sitting in on interviews for such a dancer- he didn’t even know where that Shy Guy got a disco ball- he folded up his map and set out towards his destination.

If he was lucky, he might even find the twins along the way.

 

* * *

 

Luigi hadn’t been having the best day. It was far from the worst, that went to the exodus of the Boos from the castle, but it wasn’t all that great, either. Wincing, he finally managed to pick the last thorn out of his arm, which was now covered in cuts.

At least he wasn’t the only one. There was a patch of red just ahead of him trying to jump on top of the aliens. Emphasis on trying. Mario wasn’t very good at judging distance, though, admittedly, he had never been quite this bad before, even when they’d first started.

Luigi decided that it didn’t matter, and that getting to his brother, and potentially helping him out of that mess, was the most important thing at the moment. Even if the only way he knew how to fight was with a Fire Flower, which were uncommon even in his home kingdom, which was so deeply connected with fire that the castle was built into an active volcano.

Nobody still alive was really sure what the logic behind that was, but they assumed it was something important. Fire Flowers were more common in the kingdom or Sarasaland than anywhere else, but that wasn’t really saying much, and might have been more due to a lack of competition than anywhere else.

There certainly weren’t Ice Flowers growing there. Although, apparently, they did grow in the Mushroom Kingdom, despite a lack of association with ice and snow. They were, supposedly, little different to the Fire Flower in terms of application, so Luigi decided it was as good a tactic as any.

He wasn’t expecting the aliens to curl up and die as soon as they were hit by so much as a snowball, but he wasn’t complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Shroobs will never be much of a threat here. That is scientific fact. Proven by scientists. (Well, a scientist, but he was actually there, so it counts, right?)  
> Kamek used to be better at planning ahead than this. Then he became responsible for children that became unholy terrors. His planning ability suffered accordingly.  
> And a lot of problems with the Mushroom Kingdom down the road simplify to the fact that Toads have the courage and general combat readiness as a dead slug. More fun to be around, and overall nice people, but... they also aren't very good at government, which does not help.


	6. Game On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Shroobs are not exactly menacing, for the most part. But even they come up with a good idea every once in a while.  
> Elvin Gadd is a genius scientist. But even he makes some questionable decisions at times.  
> The world may or may not grow to regret this someday.

“Do you think we have enough Ice Flowers?” Mario asked. Luigi nodded, shoving another clump into his pockets.

“Well, if we take too many, others might notice we were here. And we don’t exactly have to worry about losing them.” The twins simultaneously glanced and the number of frozen alien corpses at the edge of the clearing. They’d been lucky to stumble upon the place, which was practically carpeted by the blue flowers, and quickly decided to stockpile them.

Not that it would likely be necessary. The aliens were terrible shots.

“...Why are some of the blasters sparking?” Luigi blinked, and confirmed that yes, they were definitely giving off sparks.

“I think we should go now. They look like they’re about to explode.” If the sounds behind them as they walked away meant anything, then they were. “Do you think we should try and find Kamek?”

“He can probably teleport. I mean, he has his thing where he gets stuff out of nowhere…”

“It’s called hammerspace, and having one type of dimensional manipulation does not mean you have all of them.”

Mario shrugged. “It’s not like he’s bad at tracking us down or anything. He’ll probably find us eventually.” Entirely true. Luigi suspected tracking spells. “Hey, do you want to see how many aliens can fit in an ice cube?”

Well, it seemed to be as good an idea as any.

* * *

  
  


Kamek did, in fact, have tracking spells set on the twins, but only for this particular exercise. The rest of the time, they were just that predictable. But he wasn’t checking his tracking spells at the moment.

No, he was busy trying to work out a sort of schedule based entirely off of his notes. Or rather, E. Gadd’s notes, which only Luigi could read. Needless to say, it wasn’t going well. He suddenly heard cackling right behind him, which meant aliens.

“Oh, not this again…” He muttered, nonchalantly sending an ice spell their way and hearing the laughter suddenly cut off. He suspected that if it were anywhere else they were invading, at least that had Ice Flowers native to it, the plot would have been foiled within the hour.

But, of course, the majority of the Mushroom Kingdom’s population was Toads. So, as far as random bad stuff went, they were fair game. If things continued as they had, actually, they were liable to get taken out by a random ancient evil that someone accidentally unsealed.

Kamek hoped that didn’t happen. Mostly because they were the kingdom next door, which meant that it would eventually make it his problem. He’d rather not have to deal with any more world-destroying abominations than necessary.

Either way, he was making progress. The scientist’s lab, in this time, would be located on a volcano. The name of said volcano was significantly harder to make out.

On the bright side, he did have a map. So he could narrow it down based on how long the names were, though not by much. The Mushroom Kingdom only really had four volcanoes, anyway.

* * *

  
  


“So, how did we end up here again?” Mario asked. Luigi sighed. He’d been wondering much the same thing. They’d started out in a forest on the mainland. Yoshi’s Island wasn’t exactly on the path.

“(Hello!)” Luigi flinched, and the two of them turned to see a yellow Yoshi standing there. “(Are you here to see the giant appearing egg?)” At least, he thought that was what he said. He didn’t speak Yoshi all that well. And it sounded more than a little insane… more so than usual, anyway.

The problem with studying thermodynamics surrounded by lava that people with imported Ice Flowers sometimes turned into a skating rink was that logic tended to curl up and die.

“Um… sure?” He was positive he was going to regret this. Oh, well. They did have a lot of Ice Flowers on hand, so in the worst case scenario, they could still do something. Something likely meaning freezing the ocean and running for their lives, but that was still something.

They found a large spotted egg just as it cracked open, and from there, things got… complicated.

* * *

  
  


Kylie Koopa considered herself to be fairly intelligent. She’d gotten to the position of investigative reporter at only eighteen years old, which simply didn’t happen most of the time. Never mind that it was a recent reassignment because, biggest paper in the kingdom or not, it was mainly staffed by Toads. They needed every person with a backbone they could get.

And Kylie had that backbone. Also a distinct lack of common sense, but she was told that was normal for her species. These two things combined meant that she was investigating the alien invasion.

It was going rather well, she thought. They’d only been there for a few days and she already knew the odd creatures from space were called Shroobs.

Not much, admittedly, but it gave her something to call them, and it was a rather silly name. Very few could feel threatened by something with that kind of name. Unfortunately, this was the Mushroom Kingdom. The place where those few seemed to cluster.

The giant, purple, alien Yoshi on the other hand… that could be a clear threat. And she was no good in a fistfight, let alone against an apparent representative of the species best known for lightning-quick reflexes.

She did wonder about the frost coating its scales, though. For about as long as she had time to think about it before she was forced to attempt running for it. Over a cliff.

Fortunately, it was right over the village, and there were a lot of buildings there, so she landed on a roof without suffering too much injury.

The peace didn’t last long, of course. Not with the alien growth beam. But it did exist for a bit, and that was the important part.

* * *

  
  


_ (See, Mario? This is why we don’t usually let you make the plans.) _ Mario glanced at the giant purple Yoshi that they had somehow managed to lose earlier.

_ (What are you talking about? It was a great plan!) _ Albeit one with no backups for the eventuality of an attack missing… and the only real thought was freezing the tongue to the ground… There was a very good reason Luigi normally made the plans.

_ (If it managed to get away long enough for a growth beam, it wasn’t a good plan!) _ And there went another tree.  _ (On the bright side, I figured something out that might help.) _

_ (What do you mean?) _

_ (Whatever that beam was, it’s not magic. Magic is necessary for any of this type of growth done on a biological being, which means that this thing is purely mechanical, albeit with a stunningly adaptive artificial intelligence-) _

_ (Luigi? You’re babbling again.) _ That was actually normal. His younger brother was the quiet one, but once he latched onto something he was interested in, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even if they’d currently opened up telepathy.

_ (Oh, right. Well, while it gives off the impression of a living being, it doesn’t necessarily have the same functions as one. Meaning that the Yoshis aren’t definitely needed for fuel, but possibly something else.) _

_ (You mean like the abduction movies?) _ Mario suggested. He heard a sigh coming through the link.

_ (...Yes, Mario. Exactly like the movies. Now stop stalling and grab another Ice Flower!) _

 

* * *

 

Elvin Gadd loved his job. So his budget forced him to work on the side of a volcano that erupted far too often. His other option was studying ghosts, and those were tricky.

Okay, so it was just that the last time someone still alive tried to open negotiations with King Boo, it had resulted in a new haunted forest, a literal ghost town, and no new progress. But he did have a working sense of self-preservation, thank you very much, and come rain, volcanic eruptions, and alien invasions, he didn’t plan on that ever changing.

Which was a shame, because he really wanted off that volcano.

Either way, during the beginning of the invasion, he was just fine watching the spaceships flying around the volcano, trying to get close, before quickly backing off. It was due to erupt soon, after all.

The knock at the door had been unexpected. After all, very few who would be at a volcano due to erupt- well, the sane ones, anyway- were in possession of hands. Even fewer at this volcano.  And who wore a hooded cloak on an active volcano, anyway?

“Doctor Elvin Gadd?” The visitor asked. From the sound of his voice, purely for confirmation.

“Yes, that’s me.” He didn’t pay too much attention to the visitor at first, given that he was busy with his fireproofing. Perhaps he shouldn’t have left if off so long, but he had enough practice to take care of it very quickly.

Just for a moment, however. Because then the visitor laughed, before removing his hood. “I thought so,” He stated. “Given that this isn’t even the first volcano I checked. My name is Kamek, and I have a proposition for you…”

Had E. Gadd known what he was going to be getting into, he would never have accepted that offer. But he did, and so Kamek wasn’t paradoxed away.

In the present, he was still trying to figure out whether or not that was a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one good reason for Yoob to be a legitimate threat. Even if it does have actual biological parts in places instead of just really good imitations, it would still be a genetic experiment. So the ice weakness would still be factored out.  
> But Yoob as a robot makes more sense. And lets Luigi be a nerd. That's basically his thing here. Comes with being E. Gadd's personal student. Like how Bowser's the dumb muscle and Mario's the one with incredible powers he doesn't know how to use.  
> At the moment. That will change, however.


End file.
